Reviews

As a split / collaborative release, this thematically focuses on the album’s title, albeit in markedly different contexts as indicated within the promo blub: “This album has united two Lithuanian projects under a theme of resistance. Papua New Guinea cannibals’ resistance against outsider effects is different from resistance of interwar period Lithuanian guerrillas, but you can find these associations on a musical plane, and Body Cargo and Pogrom each present their own interpretations”. Regarding the format, both acts are well suited to this pairing as they travel very similar sonic terrains. Here each act provides four tracks in addition to two collaborative tracks for good measure (each provides vocals for a track of the other).
Body Cargo is up first and although billed as ‘post-mortem’, they effectively deliver death industrial at its most lo-fi and dirty, where echoed, muddied and morbid analogue sonics are the order of the day. ‘Black Smoke Obelisks’ provides an extended nightmare of muffled factory drones and croaked deathly vocals over what may or may not be sonically buried orchestral / radio samples. ‘Gutpath’ presents a more forceful framework, consisting of a malfunctioning conveyor belt type rhythmic element, various distortions layers and a sampled / looped tribal chanted vocal for good measure. Alternately ‘Sacred is all Red’ presents a more meditative, muffled and windswept industrial / drone piece. For Body Cargo’s final track (and the first collaborative track with Pogrom on vocals), is ‘Resistance (Survival Method)’, which delivers a great multi textured death industrial piece of swelling / driving layers, vague pounding rhythms and waiving distorted vocal lurking within the sonic mass.
Moving on to Pogrom’s half, they approach their sound with a little more vigour, pushing their tracks towards a power electronics tone, but still sheathed in a heavy dose of muffled lo fi production. ‘Resistance (Guerrilla Method)’ is Pogrom’s first track (and last of the collaborative tracks), featuring muffled, idling factory machine sounds and morbid, catatonically spoken vocals of Body Cargo, which functions as a great introduction for Pogrom. Next track ‘Dar negimes (Igarka)’ amps things up along the power electronics line/ sound with crude, nasty, scuzzy, no frills squalls of distortion and distorted vocal abuse. Likewise ‘Toks melsvas vakaras…’ balances the line between death industrial and power electronics sounds, with morbid spoken vocals, grinding industrial undercurrent and forceful squalls of distortion. Final track ‘Girioj gules’ takes a slightly different tangent, where it commences with a maudlin solo folk type vocal sample, before succumbing to a muffled mass of grinding death industrial sounds, which also includes a sampled piano accompaniment to play the track though to its conclusion.
Taken in totality this is certainly a grim and harrowing release from these two aligned projects (which is a compliment for this style of music), rounded out with cover artwork which is also suitably old school and low-fi with its black and white, cut and paste aesthetic.
Taken from Noise Receptor

Resistance is a conceptually themed cd by two Lithuanian artists Body Cargo and Pogrom active on the Lithuanian Terror label, who have provided the noise scene with an impressive series of releases over the last two years. Body Cargo’s contribution deals with the Papua New Guinea Cannibals. Pogrom’s contribution deals with the interwar period Lithuanian guerrillas who fought the soviet rule and forces from 1940 to the 1960s; the last known member of the Lithuanian resistance to be killed in action was Pranas Koncius in 1965. The general overall theme deals with the self preservation of cultures through resistance against larger political economies and industrialization. Both projects also combined as Volksmorg to form an impressive self titled cassette in 2012.
Body Cargo’s name is taken in relation to the Papa New Guinea cannibals, so this is a subject close to their heart. It is said on the Body Cargo website that both the US and Japan took part in war activities around the 2nd World War in the Papa New Guinea area. This major campaign involving US, Australian and Japanese forces involved one known execution method where prisoners of war were thrown alive at great height from aeroplanes and helicopters into the jungles of Papa New Guinea, these operations were known as Body Cargo. Cannibal Cults allegedly saw these bodies that came from the planes as human meat sent by divine astro machines from the heavens; a reward for worshipping the gods. These stories and related conspiracies form the conceptual basis of Body Cargo. This project has been active since 2010.
Pogrom (Definition – a violent mob attack or massacre on people and/or homes, business centres and religious places of worship of a minority group) has also been active since 2010. Pogrom has released on the sex, violence and racism themed Finnish label Filth and Violence with a string of releases like Liberal Cunt and Multicultural Degeneration. Pogrom is also linked to Budrus and Volksmorg. Much of the Pogrom’s previous output becomes a focus on far right political leanings/shock tactics through its titles. Earlier PE artists explored these themes as with other extreme themes as a form of shock; I see the later/recent biased use of extreme ideologies in Power Electronics and Noise as a dilution of the genre, there is an entire movement of this type of PE that moved from shock to plain racism. However the theme of extreme politics now comes across as formulaic Power Electronics offensiveness, as a listener I want more than a recycling of everyone else’s political viewpoint, murder worship and sex traits. Am I going to get this from Pogrom?
Body Cargo provide the first five tracks of Resistance beginning Birth of Iron God, this begins with looped vocal samples that churn away leading to a bass heavy wall of distortion and feedback; does it relate to the planes seen as Iron sky gods? Body Cargo’s assaultive Wall would have been a welcome addition to Terror’s Kad Te Moja Cakija Ubode compilation. Black Smoke Obelisks bellows dense drones synchronised by with lurking vocals that churn away. A shifting feedback cuts into the track allowing a tapestry of vocal and noises to develop Dark Ambient thick smog. Gutpath shifts immediately into an aggressive shooting power electronics assault combined with equally chopped abstract vocals. Gutpath increases as a massive assault of noise compared to previous tracks to a point were a didgeridoo like rebounding wave of noise that resonates violently. Things pull back in level for Sacred Is All Red; feedback becomes drone forming a lower level assault that flitters between being ambient and a murky wall of noise.
The fifth and sixth tracks are the two versions of Resistance by both artists. Body Cargo provide the music on the first version of Resistance; voice is provided by Pogrom. The music floats around at a quiet ambient level. Sharper electronic sounds begin to appear and a driving industrial noise chugs through. This all gradually combines to form a more frontal assault of sound. This dies down and moves into Pogrom’s version of Resistance; beginning as a wall of dense drone, the sound gradually develops into a lower power electronics assault with slowed down vocals from Body Cargo.
Dar negimes (Igarka). (Unborn Garki) delivers an immediate power electronics assault blasts of static noise and electronically mutated vocals; this builds up to impressive levels of attack. Pradeginta Uniforms uses a shifting wall of low crackling noise spiked with cuts of feedback. The overall noise seems to falter and lurch forwards sporadically. Pogrom specialises in powerful walls of noise from previous Terror compilations and Pradeginta Uniforms is a strong example of this. Feedback cuts in at a higher level to kill Pradeginta Uniforms and allow Toks Melsvas Vakaras to begin its’ build up; which begins with a guitar like noise passage that his soon interrupted by hissing noise and feedback. A chanted prayer like vocal begins to cut in as the overall combination of sounds rises to a vicious sound assault. Girioj gules (lying in the Forest) begins with a folk style vocal passage that erupts into an impressive passage of industrial clanging; this continues in repetition until it is cut into by a piano solo, the track overrides itself to an end.
This is an unrelenting dark release a real challenge to stay with. Body Cargo’s contribution is dark and foreboding overall. Their work is strong and is the more sonically consistent in style of the two artists. Pogrom juxtapose a lot of styles well on this release; their work combines Power Electronics, Harsh Walls, Death Industrial and Noise. Both causes are conceptually dealt with well by the artists. In terms of Pogrom this differs slightly from their usual concept individually and they don’t come across as formulaic, but as part of their wider body of work Pogrom’s theme of the heroic efforts of the Lithuanian resistance does allude to the cause of a wider far right nationalism that I personally disagree with. However as a single work this split cd it is another strong display of noise from Terror with an impressive booklet visually illustrating both forms of resistance.
Rating: 3/5
Taken from Heathen Harvest

The sonic roots of both artists have always had a very obvious European style. Sharing an atmosphere and the self-sufficient creative spirit of everyone from M.O. to Grunt, spotlighting the great parts of both stylings. On this split CD you get 10 tracks, 4 from each artist respectively, and then 2 where they alternate sounds and vocals, e.g. Pogrom doing vocals over a Body Cargo track and vica-versa (both titled "Resistance"). The sounds have a palpable duality, something like up and down or "active/passive", but it is not overdrawn. Actually, the production from both artists is almost identical. I would assume this to be the case if they shared equipment and recorded with similar productions standards/settings. The idea behind this CD and the content is also shared by both units, yet the ideas and cultures being addressed are both continents away, figuratively and literally. Body Cargo is giving an insightful look from an outside perspective into the cannibalism in Papa New Guinea, and the tribes who maintain these traditions by resiting outsiders from effecting their culture. Then you have Pogrom who speaks proudly of his home turf, Lithuania, and the resistance of the guerrilla warriors of the country. The idea carries over perfectly from Pogrom's last release, "Multicultural Degeneration", where he gave a similar intelligent backed voice against the removal of a people from their roots. Ideas both easily reflective to anyone.
Opening tracks belong to Body Cargo. The style here has been establish on prior releases which have emerged from Body Cargo's slowly growing catalog. The material has matured with the artist, as any good material should. It also seems as though he has taken on less outside influence, removing pieces instead of adding, so now his style has fermented into a purely refined breed of "post-mortem Industrial" and Power Electronics that can only be fashioned by this artist himself. With Body Cargo the low frequencies tend to hold reign. Movements of sound mutating at a deliberate pace is the glue that bonds these sounds together on each track without falling into the pitfall of "repetition without progression". Tracks like "Gutpath" and "Resistance (Survival Methd)" are BC at his true auditory apex. By the time Pogrom comes around you are heavily weighed down by the previous experience pushed upon you by Body Cargo's relentlessness.
Pogrom seems, at times, ultra-aggressive due to the way this split worked out. I find this to probably be completely subjective and I think if Pogrom went first it wouldn't have had the same effect which actually made it work out well for both artists. In any case, Pogrom now takes up the duties and gets to it without time wasted. Pogrom takes an approach somewhat akin to what is happening in Finland, and by a small group of active American artists, but with Pogrom's own brand of complete authenticity and native concoctions. If I were to make any comparisons to give a potential buyer an idea as to the sound of Pogrom, I would say it is something like the rough cuts and junk of Mania meets the pounding compositions of artist like Concrete Mascara with a Grunt vibe, yet composed in a totally original manner. To put it clearly you just simply get a good range when it comes to any Pogrom release and this is no exception. Pogrom saves the best for last, something to remember him by, with the closing piece "Girioj Gules", which is rather fucking amazing to my ears. It's a unique thread of sounds starting out with a long chant which I assume is in Lithuanian. This goes on for some time before slowly mixing with, from what I can discern, a blurry distorted scrap metal loop, although I don't know if using the word "loop" fits here, I believe it to be more like a stream of the same source played for a decent length of time as if it were a live setting. And then, as promised in the label description, a piano pops up and plays a disjointed melody atop this beast. Truly an amazing piece of Power Electronics.
The first time I spun this I thought it existed in 2 separate, but equal, spheres of appreciation. On one hand an almost passive listening experience, to an active one (as I mentioned earlier in this review). But the more I sat down with this CD, which I have now listened to it in depth quite a number of times, I realized my prior assumptions were not wholly accurate. The appeal here can be measured within both modes which is ideal. It's low and textural where it needs to be and is also hyperactive at times (a few times both exist within the same space and time frame). Drawing a bottom line: this is a truly great CD that I recommend to anyone just looking for a great Industrial/PE CD.
Taken from Pure Stench

Here is a split with 2 collaborative tracks between these 2 power electronics artists. The theme is resistance, gorilla armies, political rebels. There’s something about when power electronics artists explore political subjects that I really enjoy.
Body Cargo is up first offering several layered tracks of harsh sounds. The tracks are quite detailed and present a traditional power electronics sound not really bringing anything new to the table but that is fine. Black Smoke Obelisks is worth commenting on because of its more ritualistic chanting qualities which you don’t see in pe too often. I also really enjoy some of the textures and heavy passages in Gutpath
Pogrom is a bit more noisy but also falls into a traditional pe style. It’s pretty generic stuff but well executed so fans of the genre will not be disappointed. Some of the vocal delivery is done quite well and seems to be Pogrom’s strong point.
One major issue with the whole disc – yet moreso Body Cargo’s tracks – is that the quality is quite poor. Both project and employ an extremely muddy sound which dulls the edges more than is preferred.
Resistance will appeal traditional power electronics fans who like a lo-fi delivery of traditional sounds. It’s a solid offering and both acts show potential but also have room for improvement.
Taken from Existence Establishment